Poland would need allied backing to shoot down Russian weapons over Ukraine

Poland would require political, military, and technical agreements with NATO allies to shoot down Russian weapons over Ukrainian territory, according to Daniel Szeligowski, head of the Eastern Europe program at the Polish Institute of International Affairs. While Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has previously supported the idea, not everyone in Poland or NATO shares this stance.

Implementing such a policy would involve numerous questions, including who would deploy and fire air defense systems, under what rules, and whether the airspace would need to be closed. These military, political, and technical issues would need to be resolved, as Poland cannot protect its entire territory with air defense systems.

Moving air defense systems away from other areas would also require agreements with Poland's allies, such as Germany or the Netherlands. While supporters of intercepting Russian missiles over Ukraine can advocate for the policy, a political agreement at the level of the military alliance is necessary.

Brief written by urgent.news from New Voice of Ukraine's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.